PHOTO: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced his resignation on Thursday, following a decision by President Trump to withdraw American troops from Syria. He’ll be replaced by Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan starting in January. CREDIT: Susan Walsh/AP

BY FRANCESCA PARIS

A replacement for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will step in two months earlier than anticipated, President Trump announced Sunday.

“Because you have the right to have a secretary of defense whose views are better aligned with yours … I believe it is right for me to step down from my position,” Mattis wrote in his letter of resignation.

Shanahan was confirmed by Congress as deputy secretary of defense in July 2017. He has essentially served as chief operating officer for the Pentagon, as NPR reported in May.

The former Boeing executive told NPR’s Steve Inskeep that new technology will shape the future of war.

“The investment in weapons systems is long term,” Shanahan says. “So when we watch, whether it’s the Chinese or the Russians or what extreme terrorist organizations are doing, we have to put an eye towards what are those capabilities where we want to extend our advantage.”

He told Defense News in October that his job was to implement systemic change in the Department of Defense and focus the department on “output and outcomes.” He said he would concentrate on “rewiring the organization to increase our performance on lethality, alliances, and reform.”

According to Defense News, he has pushed the department to update its internal technology and measurably increase its efficiency.

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